Gene
Polled goats are born without horns. Polled is dominant, so one copy gives a hornless goat of either sex, but two copies in a genetic female cause polled intersex syndrome, an infertile intersex that can be mistaken for a male at birth. Breeders are therefore advised to mate polled goats to horned ones, and bucks with two copies are reported to have fertility problems.
One copy is enough to show Polled; one and two copies look the same.
Proven by DNA. A deletion establishes polledness and polled intersex syndrome. A polled doe that has kidded has one copy; a Doe record alone does not prove it.
In genetic females (XX), two copies cause polled intersex syndrome: the goat is infertile, and its outward sex can range from almost female to almost male.
In genetic males (XY), two copies are reported to cause sperm granulomas and reduced fertility; recent reviews call the evidence unclear.
Only a goat born without horns is polled. Disbudding or dehorning removes horns but does not change the genotype.
If the buck has one copy of polled, about 1 in 8 kids is expected to be an intersex goat: genetically female and infertile, and it can look like a doeling, a buckling or something in between. If he has two copies, about 1 in 4. If you don't know which he has, plan for 1 in 4. This assumes the polled doe is fertile (she has kidded, or a test shows one copy). Breeders usually pair a polled goat with a horned one: half the kids are polled (all of them if the polled buck has two copies), and none have polled intersex syndrome. A polled DNA test is offered in Europe (Giessen, Bern). The Giessen test also tells polled goats from horned or disbudded ones and reports genetic sex.
Illustrations of typical animals, checked against the sources below. Not photos of DNA-tested animals.
One-copy polled × horned: 50% of kids show polled, under the stated assumptions. No PIS is predicted under those entered horn-status assumptions.
Get an alert the moment a new Polled goat listing goes live on the Creatures marketplace.
No active listings right now.
No animal profiles yet.
Add a public profile with registry, identity, or pedigree details to start the public record.
Add animalNo breeders listed yet.
Create an organization page and free account together so people can find your farm, ranch, or breeding program.
Create organization pageEach breed has its own page with listings, profiles, and breeders.
Guides and articles for Polled goat owners.
A goat itself usually costs somewhere between $150 and $800, and where a given animal lands in that range depends almost entirely on what it is for. A pet wether (a castrated male) is the cheapest, often $150 to $350, because he has no breeding or dairy value. A grade dairy doe or a commercial […]
Feed goats a diet built on forage and browse, with good hay as the year-round backbone, and add grain only when a specific animal actually needs it. Goats are ruminants, so their whole digestive system is designed to ferment long-stem fiber, not to run on concentrates. Get the forage right, keep clean water and loose […]
The goat gestation period is about 150 days (145 to 155). Use our kidding date chart, Boer, Pygmy and Nigerian Dwarf notes, and free calculator.
A doe shared a paddock with a buck, but nobody saw the service. That is useful information, provided the record says exposure rather than inventing an exact mating date. The same distinction matters when two bucks were present or a later veterinary estimate changes your planning window. Creatures lets you record breeding events and track […]
A goat that is fed well, wormed sensibly, and never culled will usually live into its low-to-mid teens. Washington State University Extension teaches 10 to 15 years as the average for the species, and the captive-longevity record compiled in the AnAge database puts the verified maximum at 20.8 years, held by one female, with a […]
Set up a farm tour by defining the visit before opening the calendar: who it suits, what guests will do, how many people you can host, what the price covers, and how arrival works. Creatures can turn that plan into dated bookable sessions. The bookable-offering guide shows where to create the draft and finish its […]
Calculators, generators, and guides preset for Polled goat.
Every goat guide, grouped by topic.
